Suction box



Nov. 1o, 1953 l A. W, TELLER 2,658,789

v SUCTION BOX Filed Sept. 5, 1950 INVENTOR nd/vies )44 TCM/fer,

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. l0, 1.953

SECTION lQXK Andries W. "Iellier, Hilversum, Netherlands Application September 5, 195.0, Serial 183,275,

Claims priority, application Netherlands September 15, 519,@9.

3 Claims.

My present invention relates to means adapted to grip and transport a plurality of segregate, regularly positioned bodies of relatively uniform shape.

Means of this type comprise a box tted with a nozzle to be connected through a hose to a vacuum source, said box having a flat bottom provided with a plurality of apertures therein, each aperture communicating, through a nipple, with an elastic tube carrying a suction cup. Said box is adapted, through suitable mechanism or manually, to be lowered from a position vertically above the bodies to engage the bodies, and thereupon to be raised again and moved laterally into a position vertically above another support upon which the bodies are to be deposited. As a matter of course, valve means should be provided for applying vacuum to, and for restoring atmospheric pressure in the suction cups in timed relation with the movements of the box.

Known suction boxes of the above description operate satisfactorily as long as the bodies to be conveyed and regularly positioned on a support have exactly equal heights, or are supported with their tops in a common horizontal plane. However, if employed for handling bodies such as non-sorted eggs, which may have appreciably different heights so that their tops are not located in a common horizontal plane, the diniculty is met with that, if the suction box has moved into its lower position, wherein the greater part of the eggs are engaged by the respective suction cups, certain of the suction cups may still clear small eggs while the tubes of certain of the suction cups may be collapsed by large eggs.

My present invention `has for its object to provide an improved suction box for the purpose stated, i. e. a suction box adapted to grip a plurality of eggs or similar bodies regularly positioned on a support, even if the heights of said bodies should differ to a relatively great extent. With this object in view, my invention consists herein that each elastic suction cup of the suction box comprises, in combination, a domeshaped element having an aperture in its top and adapted to seat itself in a substantially air-tight manner upon the body to be handled thereby, and a tubular member extending from said aperture upwards and connected to a nipple of the box, the wall of the lower portion of the said element being relatively thick and the wall of the upper portion on at least one side of said aperture being so thin as to be adapted, under the influence of axial forces, to be resiliently collapsed through a substantial axial direction relative to the said lower portion of said element.

In order that my invention may be well understood by those skilled in the art, I shall now proceed to describe a few embodiments thereof with reference to the annexed drawing.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a suction box provided with six suction cups in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of one of the suction cups shown in Figure 1, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the suction cup shown in Figure 2 in collapsed position.

In Fig. l, the numeral 4 designates a suction box provided with a central nozzle 5 in its top AWall 6 and with six aligned nipples 1 in its flat adapted to seat itself in an airtight manner upon an egg E disposed in an opening I2 in a stationary rack I3. The top of said element I0 has an aperture I4 through which the element communicates with the tube 9.

As shown, the tops of the four eggs E are disposed at different levels and angles. The suction box is shown as being lowered into bottom position, and in this position suction cups I0 have seated themselves on the eggs vertically below, without the tubes 9 being appreciably deformed.

To accomplish the foregoing result, the suction cups I B, as more clearly shown in Figure 21, comprise a relatively deep stili substantially cylindrical skirt I5 forming the lower portion thereof and a domed top wall I6 connecting the upper portion of said skirt I5 with the tube 9 around the aperture I4. The domed top wall I6 is flexible to accommodate variations in elevation and angularity between the skirt I5 and the tube 9 and, preferably, this top wall is thinner than said skirt I5 or tube 9 for this purpose. Moreover, said top wall may be provided with one or more corrugations I1 to increase its exibility.

By this construction, as shown in Figures l and 3, all variation between the skirt I5 and the tube 9 in angulation or relative height is accommodated by the domed top wall I6. Thus, the tube 9 is not collapsed and the length of the skirt I5 is sufficient to cooperate in gripping the small objects, or eggs E.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for handling fragile bodies such as eggs, and having a suction cup carried by a tube and in communication through said tube with a suction chamber, the improvement in said cup comprising a relatively deep sti skirt connected to said tube by a domed exible top wall to accommodate variationsin elevation and angularity between said skirt and said tube upon engagement by said skirt with abody, said domed top wall being corrugated to increase flexibility.

2. In apparatus for handling fragile bodies such as eggs, and having a suction cup carried by a tube and in communication through said tube with a suction chamber, the improvement in said cup comprising a relatively deep stii skirt connected to said tube by a domed flexible top Wall to accommodate variations in elevation and angularity between said skirt and said tube upon engagement by said skirt with a body, said skirt, top wall and tube being integral with said top wall being thinner than said skirt and tube.

4 3. In apparatus as defined in claim 2, said skirt being relatively thick-walled and substan-V tially cylindrical, the lower free edge of said skirt being inwardly chamfered. Y 5 ANDRIES W. TELLIER.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10 1,222,535 Crum Apr. 10, 1917 1,252,280 McDonald Jan. 1, 1918 1,987,336 Powell Jan. 8, 1935 2,126,689 Pouliot Aug. 9, 1933 15 2,531,955 Toney Nov. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 599,427 France Jan. 12, 1926 

